IMG_3302

Dommage...

I'd not heard of these pine beetles until visiting Canada a few years back. We saw many pines dying and were told of them. I gather cold winters keep the numbers down, but with winters becoming warmer they've become a major problem.

Probably the bigger contributing factor in this area is drought, which not only stresses the trees, it limits their sap production. That's how they defend themselves against invading insects, by engulfing them with sap. Another problem is that nearly all the forest in the Tahoe basin is second growth--it was logged off pretty thoroughly in the 19th century--so there isn't the usual age mix of trees. There are lots more young trees, and they tend to be too crowded, which also leads to stress. There are ongoing thinning efforts to make a healthier forest--but cutting trees in the Tahoe area is also controversial!

Thanks for both the photo with detail, and then your description. I'd assumed that much of the beetle infestations out here were due to a combination of drought and human consumption/preservation cycles.

Glad you found it of interest! It's interesting that efforts to ameliorate the damage become controversial in themselves, due to misplaced notions as to what's "natural"...